The Economist tends to be a bit ingenuous at times, particularly in addressing the motivations of tyrants and in its advocacy for increased business with dictators.

So we weren't surprised when it asked this week:

"It is unclear to what extent Mr Maduro is actually calling the shots. After images emerged of Sebin officers apparently firing on demonstrators, the president claimed they had disobeyed his orders and sacked the general in charge. He also attempted to distance himself from pro-regime gunmen on motorcycles by saying such groups 'had no place in the revolution'. But Iris Varela, the prisons minister, tweeted gleefully that the opposition was “shit-scared” of the colectivos, calling them a 'fundamental pillar in the defence of the homeland'. And not long after Mr Maduro declared anyone using firearms should act within the law, the same black-clad irregulars staged an armed raid on the headquarters of Popular Will, Mr López’s party. If not the president, who is putting the thugs on the street?"